My grandma has severe headaches. It used to be just when she was low in sugar. That was manageable. Then it was when she was moving around. Again manageable. Now the last few weeks, it has been all the time. It has gotten worse. She sometimes tells me she can't see but denies seeing white spots or anything. I wonder if it's a migraine. I mentioned it to the doctor and he sent us to get iron shots. She had one on Friday and the headache didn't go away. I'm debating on taking her to the doctor's but he always seems to follow what I think and I'm out of ideas. This isn't common to dementia right? Anyone else dealing with this kind of thing and did you have any luck treating it? She's on extra-strength tylenol every 4 hours. She can't take anything stronger because she's on blood thinners and has blood blood pressure. Morphone and oxycodone does not agree with her. She gets hallucinations and doesn't sleep. I can't handle her at home on those things and I can't see that helping with a migraine anyway. Any suggestions before I go bug the doctor?
Could be food allergy
Eye exam
May be needed
Tylenol always good unless she's allergic
Maybe a new bed pillow will
Help.
Is her doctor a geriatrician? They are often much better at figuring out these seemingly impossible issues.
Oh, and find her a new doctor...
The when you're taking her to is a schlub if s/he is ONLY following your direction !!!
No one could figure it out, and they thought she was having anxiety attacks. One Another symptom she developed with jaw pain (she wasn't eating well because of it). Her dentist referred her to an oral surgeon, who asked to have a blood test to rule out "something" before he went forward.
That something was "Giant Cell Arteritis" (Aka Temporal Arterites). I won't go into details, but the blood test checks "SED rate" and one other item. If positive, it indicates an inflammation in her system. It is not definitive, but if the doctor suspects GCL, he will immediately start her on Predinsone.
This condition caused inflammation of the arteries, generally in the head (temples and optic nerve). It is very serious, because it can cause irreversible blindness or double vision and to a lesser extent, stroke or aortic aneurysm.
For a more definitive diagnosis, a temporal artery biopsy is done. Unfortunately GCL is not always detected in the biopsy either. My mother had a "bilateral temporal biopsy" and it was positive for both!
GCL is more prevalent in elderly females, and for some unknown reason, people of northern European descent (My mother had grandparents from Norway).
**did she hit her head recently or anything like that?**
If you think they are from tension or arthritic vertebrae my mom gets some relief from her headaches with OTC creams used for muscle and joint pain.
Stregalina, sorry about the missed diagnosis, but glioblastoma is terribly fast growing and the long term prognosis is not good no matter how soon you find it. I hope they were able to keep her comfortable to the end. ((hugs))